GUWAHATI, Feb 26 – The Lokapriya Gopinath Bordoloi Airport is ready with all necessary technical facilities for operation of twice-weekly international flight to Bangkok from April 4. The Director General of Civil Aviation and senior officials of the Bureau of Civil Aviation Security are scheduled to arrive here on February 28 for final inspection of the facilities in the airport.
Talking to The Assam Tribune, the Regional Executive Director of the Airports Authority of India, Sri Srikrishan said that technically the LGB Airport with all modern equipment, is comparable to any other international airport in the country. He said that the airport now has two radars, night landing facilities, modern navigational aids etc. He revealed that according to the schedule given to the Airports Authority by the Air India, at the initial stage, one flight would arrive at the LGB Airport from Bangkok on Monday evening, while, one flight would leave for Bangkok in the afternoon of Thursday. The LGB Airport, which was declared an international airport in May 2000, can accommodate six various types of wide-bodied aircraft at a time. The terminal building can cater to peak hour capacity of 1500 passengers at a time. Sri Srikrishan revealed that at the initial stage, the existing departure and arrival terminals would be used for the international passengers. However, he said that the domestic and international passengers would be segregated by putting up movable partitions. Specific areas have been allotted for setting up of the offices of Customs, Air India and Immigration in the airport, while the State Bank of India is putting up a money transfer counter in the airport to cater to the need of the international passengers.
The Regional Executive Director of the AAI revealed that they have already acquired land for a separate international terminal, cargo complex and extension of the runway. However, he said that the construction of the new terminal would be taken up only after proper study of the flow of international traffic and passengers. “The existing terminals are adequate to cater to the requirement of twice-weekly flight, and we would have to make proper assessment of the requirement before making the plan for the new terminal building,” he added. He also revealed that at present, the length of the runway is 9,000 ft and a plan has been prepared to extend it to 12,000 ft. However, he said that the 9,000 ft runway can handle 747 Jumbo jet if it is not loaded to its full capacity of 450 passengers. But if it is loaded to full capacity, a 12,000 ft runway is a must. He also revealed that a process is on to acquire 150 acres of land for an isolation parking bay and a parallel taxi track.
Sri Srikrishan admitted that the passenger amenities available at the LGB Airport are not comparable to other international airports in the country. However, he said that steps have been initiated to improve the amenities for the passengers and visitors. He admitted that the chairs for visitors, kept just outside the arrival terminal, were removed due to security reasons and now only the PSOs of the VIPs are allowed to sit there. But the Airports Authority of India is planning to construct visitors’ shades for those who come to the airport to see off or receive passengers and the car parking area is also being extended.
Meanwhile, security sources revealed that the LGB Airport is considered to one of the sensitive airports of the country in view of the prevailing situation in the State. Though the security cover to the airport is given by the Central Industrial Security Force personnel, officials of the other security agencies also review the security arrangements from time to time and one such meeting was held last week.